GOMBS – Dr Joel Fuhrman’s Anti-Cancer Diet

Dr. Joel Fuhrman is the GOMBS! – Randy made me write that – lol! I was watching our local PBS station this past weekend and to my surprise, I see Dr. Joel Fuhrman, the same Dr. that Joe Cross, director of Fat Sick and Nearly Dead, consulted on his quest for better health and weight loss. Randy and I watched Fat Sick and Nearly Dead (a documentary on achieving better health) just weeks ago. We were truly inspired by it and went on juice fasts of our own both ending with positive results.

So when I saw the very same Dr. Fuhrman on PBS that played a part in Joe Cross’s documentary, I parked my hummingbird butt for long enough to hear what he had to say…

Dr. Joel Fuhrman introduced himself as a family physician and the author of the popular book Eat to Live (I just received my copy in the mail yesterday!). He was appearing on PBS to reach out to people and inform them about his 3 Steps to Incredible Health. He describes his 3 steps to eating healthier and thus achieving better, even greater health, preventing disease and healing ailments. Its sounds too good to be true, but then I recalled the documentary…

A person’s diet can be the most important element in fighting certain diseases, specifically cancer. It has become a bit of a trend, finding the right combination of superfoods to offset the harmful effects of the disease. Nurses are finding themselves in the middle of this new medical trend, mainly because they work so closely with patients and have such influence on their specific diet. Certain degrees, like a RN-BSN nursing degree are now covering this more closely, so that the next wave of medical professionals have a better grasp on the effectiveness of a good, healthy diet

This is exactly what Joe Cross did in his documentary – curing illness and achieving better health with a healthy diet. Under Dr. Fuhrman’s care, Joe went on a strict juice fast consisting of mostly vegetables and some fruit juice for 60 days, ultimately curing his illness of chronic urticaria. Dr. Fuhrman is highlighted in the documentary briefly explaining his basics for the best nutrition, but isn’t allowed to go into a lot of detail. It is only about a 90 minute documentary after all.

Anyway, I started to think; maybe this Dr. Fuhrman is the real deal. So, I gave him my full attention which frankly, not many get around this zoo. I’m glad I did.

He explained how foods have both micro and macro nutrients and the significance of both in relation to our diet.

Addressing food addictions Dr. Fuhrman suggested that we not take certain foods from our diet, yet add healthy ones in. Over time, we can become more accustomed to the taste of healthier foods; even crave them leaving the unhealthy, junk food versions behind. – I really love this suggestion. It just makes good sense.

Then, he went on to assert how we need to make “the salad the main dish.” Basically, Dr. Fuhrman stresses the importance of eating many varieties of raw vegetables and fruits, why it is so important for our health, and even suggesting on how to go about it.

Next, he describes how some foods are superfoods, what’s special about eating them, and how they can prevent, even help to cure certain diseases. He said to remember the word “GOMBS” – not combs, lol.. It has stuck with me all week this word GOMBS… GOMBS isn’t a diet, but more like a rule of eating to follow founded by Dr. Fuhrman. He asserts it to be an anti-cancer way of eating.

So what is GOMBS? It’s as easy as eating:

G = Greens. Green vegetables contain many different nutrients and organisms that create a slippery coating on the inside of your blood vessels. Greens activate something called the Nrf2 mechanism that prevents plaque from sticking and speeds up the rate at which fat melts away – all this occurs inside our tiny blood vessels. Basically, think of eating greens as a way of cleaning out your blood vessels and coating them with protection.

O = Onions. When you cut an onion, you cry for good reason. The gas released actually creates disulfides and anti-cancer nutrients that are formed. A large study in Europe revealed that people who ate onions regularly showed a 60% – 70% reduction in all major cancers. Source -The Medical Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Think of preventing ovarian cancer or prostate cancer just by eating more onions… It’s a mind-boggling thought and a simple strategy to a growing problem.

M = Mushrooms. A Recent study published in the International Journal of Cancer showed that women who regularly consumed about 10 grams (that’s a small handful of sliced mushrooms, usually 1) are 64% less likely to develop breast cancer. This study went even further to reveal that the group of women who ate this same amount of mushrooms daily along with regular consumption of greens or green tea were 89% less likely to develop breast cancer. This research is more than mind-boggling, it’s significant, remarkable, and extraordinary news that inspires and encourages the need to eat healthier foods – all from about 1 mushroom, wow.

S = Seeds. Raw seeds and nuts contain phytochemicals and good fats that work to reduce cholesterol, help our bodies better absorb important micronutrients, and decrease inflammation.

I like Dr. Fuhrman’s idea of GOMBS. It’s more than just an anti-cancer rule of eating – that sounds like I’m understating its significance doesn’t it? Eating greens, onions, mushrooms, berries, beans, and seeds offers many other nutritious qualities that will improve greatly the quality of our health. I like, too, that he doesn’t promote a “magic” product. He’s promoting eating healthy food. That doesn’t seem to be too hard now does it?

In fact, I just like this Dr. Fuhrman. I like the way he presents information. He’s so practical and makes what he’s saying sound like good common sense. He’s not pushy or over excited – those people turn me off instantly. He just seems to have an honest manner about him. When I finish his book, Eat to Live, I’ll let you all in on it. Then, I’ll look into his Eat for Health books next. I’m excited to read them all.

Over this past week, I’ve added GOMBS into our diet, and it wasn’t that hard at all: Randy adds ground flax to his oatmeal. The kids and I had fresh berries on out oatmeal pancakes. See my salad above for lunch? Arugula, onions, button mushrooms, dried cranberries, almonds, sunflower seeds… Easy GOMBS on a plate. 🙂

You can add mushrooms and onions to all kinds of dishes, seeds or nuts to cereal and salads, greens on sandwiches or on the side, even in soups! I’m making a kale soup tonight. Let us know how you eat GOMBS. Maybe you have a clever recipe that incorporates them all?

Until next time about more on Dr. Fuhrman, Amy

PS. If you are familiar with Dr. Joel Fuhrman, GOMBS, or any of his other eating principles, I’d appreciate your input. Thanks

22 Comments

beth on August 27, 2016 at 4:56 am

There are so many books on health and eating.. $$$$.. here it is for free.. eat organic in moderate proportions, pray over your food, drink pure water, exercise daily, get proper sleep and remove as much electronics from your life as you can.. read, get among nature and people as you can..laugh a lot.. then let medicine be your food and let food be your medicine.

I like Dr. Fuhrman too. GOMBS is so easy to remember when I am grocery shopping and when I am cooking. I make ahead lots of soups so there’s always a quick hot meal full of veggies available. This helps when I am in a hurry or want to take something with me to the office . I have really fallen for the lowly lentil (and other legumes) and enjoy it in roasted pepper hummus as well as in my soups. So many lentils: red (great with cauliflower soup and turmeric), French blue (great in salad), pardina (retain their shape, texture, and flavor in vegetable soups)…

I have 2 wks remaining on Dr. Fuhrman’s 6-week diet. I haven’t been able to follow it perfectly (sometimes I eat too little because I can’t find veggie options when I am on the go– this interferes with diet success – must eat LOTS of vegs: 1 lb whole, 1lb raw, and 4 fruits EVERY day!) I take apples with me everywhere.

The 6 wks diet is for folks who really have medical reason to lose fast and many folks say they dropped huge amts of weight rapidly. Me? Not so much. But I may use too much olive oil on salads and maybe too many nuts — but I lost 9 lbs in 4 wks and have 2 wks to go. Doing well when I eat plenty (tired when I don’t). There are lots of legumes in my salads (chick peas, kidney beans, lentils etc.) and I found and LOVE blue Peruvian potatoes baked (very low glycemic index and nutrient denser than sweets potatoes and yams)! It’s hard to avoid ALL dairy — maybe that’s why my weight loss is not record breaking. But I need to lose another 60 to 70 lbs and this was an inspirational kick start. It’s easy to WANT good food that is whole, fresh, and unadulterated after you’ve been eating it for a few weeks. YUMMY!

Try the EAT TO DEFEAT CANCER WEB SITE for lots of recipes using GOMBS – and other foods. Recipes by Mario Battalia, Tsao, Mykal Simon and other famous chefs. The eat to defeat cancer web site also provides detailed nutritional information, and if you’re interested, scientific evidence and studies for each food item on the site. But it’s GREAT if you just want some recipes. I’ve started added parsley to everything — who knew it was loaded with vitamin C? and so much sweeter and more flavorful when heated. “eattodefeatcancer dot com”

I was on Fuhrman,s Eat to live diet for two years –it was great for the first year I only had 10 lbs to loose. lost the weight,made soups,included lots of nuts and bean didn’t cheat at all. My husband went to a fuhrman week, he ended up loosing 80 lbs. He still had a few to go. After a year I had some issues, but convinced that this was the way to eat. Nerve pain, muscle pains no energy to get going. I was very active. I think it’s a good diet, if you eat sad,but I didn’t and I went to the extreme. Caution is needed,if you have lots of weight to loose. But be sure to eat meat,dairy,oil. I did,t and now I,m paying the price. Check out the book vegan myth.

I’m now watching Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead for the 3rd time – just trying to catch anything that I may have missed the first time watching. I went out and got a juicer, then went to Sunflower Market and picked up a bunch of organic veggies and fruits. I have been online the past several days writing down juicing recipes. So, I begin a 10-day juice fast tomorrow morning. I have the next 4 days off, so figure that will be a good time for the first few days to not have to be around people and work stresses. I weigh approximately 210 lbs, 5’5″ tall, no diseases, but do have a lot of acid reflux and bloating, gas, belching….very ladylike, of course!! Anyway, have just been very inspired and encouraged by seeing the actual results of the juice fast and look forward to posting my 10-day results. Wish me luck!!

Hi All — especially the lady with cancer. I had cancer of the cervix when I was in my 20s — after the medical treatments, I had to go to work to pay the bills and could not return to college. BUT, I discovered a tiny health food store where the owners made a fabulouse vegetable soup — very healthy. That set me on the path to good eating and a cancer free life — now I’m almost 70.

I do have other health issues but so far treating everything with good nutrition has worked well.

Good luck on the new food adventure — I trust Dr. Fuhrman. A friend who lives across country from me lost 40 lbs and got off some heart meds last year by sticking to his food plan.

Oh thank you so much for your input! I am liking Dr. Fuhrman’s advise more and more with each comment that has come in, and I do think that it’s a good, common sense approach to good health. Have a wonderful and healthy new year! Amy

Hi Amy, Happy to see this. I’ve been eating Dr. Fuhrman’s lifestyle for over 4 years. I don’t always stick to it, but when you eat salads mostly, it’s okay to cheat occassionally. When I began, I lost a pound a day and I wasn’t very overweight so that was incredible. I lost a total of 20 lbs and as I increased my cycling mileage to 150 a week, I noticed that I had to include more starchy vegetables and an a daily peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread, because I couldn’t keep my weight up eating 90% fruits & veggies. I’ve eated healthy all my life – salads have always been the main dish – but I never included beans, berries, seeds, nuts, etc., and now that I have, I haven’t been sick – not even a cold! – in 4 years. Good cardiovascular health contributes to that as well, but the food intake is primarily why I feel so good. I have more energy when I eat like this. When I travel, I visit grocery instead of restaurants for a quick meal of apples, bananas & berries – & a pre-made salad. For all of you who are reading this & think you can’t live on rabbit food – well, it works if you use tasty salad dressings & go ahead & include a little feta. I use a tablespoon of feta on a giant salad & whatever fatttening dressing I want (1 Tablespoon). If that keeps salad my main dish, I’m still way ahead of the game. Incidentaly, I don’t like soups & I never blend up food. I eat it whole – as nature intended. I don’t think liquid diets are necessary for health – as a matter of fact, they’re dangerous. WeIf we were supposed to eat liquid diets we would have evolved WITH a blender. ha! Thanks for posting! Keep eating Raw foods! GOMBS! No blending necessary!

Thank you for posting this! I did go on a juice fast last summer, and it was ok for the most part. I didn’t find anything dangerous occurring or related to it. In fact, I felt more energetic and better than ever on it. The only down side was that I felt hungry all the time… I have been considered going on another juice fast after the holiday season is over, but because I felt so hungry all the time, I am thinking about adding fresh raw vegetables too.. We’ll see. I have not quiet made up my mind yet. I am glad you posted your success with GOMBS and raw foods. I couldn’t agree with you more. Eating this way just makes sense to me, and I feel so much better when I do. My mom is reading Dr. Fuhrman’s book as well now and considering changing much of her diet to follow his ideas. I will keep everyone posted on how things go…maybe I will just strictly eat GOMBS for a while and see how that compares to how I felt on the juice fast… Thanks again for your input Toni, and if you have time let me know more about what you think about juice fasting. I could use more first hand information on such 🙂

I think that one of the benefits of this diet is the hunger it gives you. You can now fill up your stomach and not feel guilty about it. I eliminated meat from my diet about three months ago after watching Forks Over Knives (something that was suggested to me by Netflix after having watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead), and since then, I’ve have hunger pangs the likes of which I haven’t felt since middle school. The thing is, I was very healthy in middle school, and I would simply eat until I was full. If you want to fill up on a vegetable juice diet, you’re going to have to juice up a lot of proteins to keep your stomach busy. Our bodies are used to a lot more protein than we actually need, so it’s normal for your stomach to feel empty more often. I’d suggest beans, lentils, broccoli, cauliflower, artichokes, et cetera. The good thing is, your stomach will shrink during this time, and you’ll start feeling full faster.

Oh yes, we watched Forks Over Knives as well and enjoyed it much – very informative. I’m curious, have you decreased or omitted dairy from your diet too? What do you think about what they had to say about dairy in the documentary? Randy and I have been discussing this notion…

I was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer 3/2010. I completed radiation, Chemo, and bi-lateral mastectomy and received a clean bill of health 12/2010. October 2011 was a day of utter shock I was told my cancer had returned and metastasized to my spine (T-6). The doctors really didnt comfort me what so ever. I then took matters into my own hands by finding the GOMBS diet. I am just starting this leg of adventure but being armed with the knowledge of the GOMBS diet along with vitamins and herbs I feel as though I will kick its butt. I cant wait to email in a few months letting everyone know that GOMBS works! For everyone out there keep your chin up, keep positive and keep the prayers going for a great future.

Wow Janette, that’s a really rough stretch for you the last couple years. Your positive attitude despite it all is impressive and I believe it will help you a great deal with your fight. It’s amazing how much our mental attitude effects what our bodies do.

I think you’re really onto something with GOMBS and Dr Fuhrman. Mainstream medicine tends to overlook a lot of things that can really be a big help and Dr Fuhrman fills in a lot of those gaps. We’ve heard a lot of remarkable stories about the success people have had with his ideas and I’m sure we’ll hear the same from you! Keep us posted!

also check out DCA, a drug approved for another illness that has been proved to shrink tumors within weeks. there is also DIM and vitamin b17, also known as amygdalin or laetrile . i’m working on fighting uterine cancer and i am taking apricot kernels (about 40 per day), essiac tea (8 oz per day) and right now i don’t need the DCA, but i wish i would have known about sooner… before i lost my mom to uterine cancer seven months ago. anyhow, i think this is a great diet, and i stay away from freed glutamic acids and processed foods…i drink distilled water and avoid everything bad that i can. that isn’t easy these days. anyhow, i just wanted to offer some information if you wanted it. it’s good to have as much info as possible! i’m sure you’re doing plenty of your own research, but i hope this helps you or someone else out! God bless you!

I’m a healthless mess, with zero willpower and less discipline; BUT if I don’t change and lose weight soon things will only disintegrate more. I saw only a brief portion of Dr. Fuhrman and his GOMBS method on PBS, and wonder if this will help me to begin a healthy weight loss program. Due to some physical issues I can’t consume fruit or do the juice cleansing, so I’d appreciate any thoughts you might have for me as to the usefulness of his books in my situation.

Hi Flo, I have yet to finish all his books and am still reading the first…It takes me a while to read with all the children in the house, lol.. Having said that, I don’t want to point out any specifics until I’ve finished.

However, I will give you a brief over view of the table of contents in his book, Eat to Live: The Effects of the American Diet, an explanation of phytochemicals in food (the good stuff), harmful effects of animal protein, how nutritional wisdom can make you thinner, food addiction, taking on disease, plan for substantial weight reduction, menu plans and recipes, frequently asked questions along with a glossory…

I think you CAN will your way out of the “health mess” you’re in, because you know you have to for the better. Wanting to make a change is the first step, and you’re making it right now. Next, you have to educate yourself. The more you learn about food and eating habits and etc…the better armed you’ll be with will power and discipline.

Will power or discipline isn’t something we’re born with. They’re skills you teach yourself. They need to be nurtured and practiced. I think if you read Dr. Furhman’s book, you may gain the knowledge you need to put a plan into action that is just right for you.

Definately, talk to your doctor before you begin a diet plan, maybe take Eat to Live along with you and see what your doctor tells you… You do not have to do a juice fast to get better either, you just have to make the desicion to get better… I think between the book and your doctor, you can come up with a plan and implement it.

In the end, you may just surprise yourself at how much your “willpower” and “discipline” grows, as the more informed you become… Good luck, and let me know if I can help with anything else, Amy